A fugitive was shot while attempting to run down a law enforcement officer serving a felony warrant in Alpine Tuesday, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department officials said.
The shooting occurred just after 11 a.m. inside the Alpine Oaks condo complex on Arnold Way between Rip Van Winkle and Quail Crest roads, south of Interstate 8.
Twelve members of a joint Fugitive Task Force, including members from the Border Patrol, Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, U.S. Marshalls Office and the Department of Corrections, were in the area serving a felony warrant on a 25-year-old man, said Lt. John Maryon with the SDSO.
The members were surveying a blue 2004 Ford Excursion outside the apartment complex when, shortly after 11 a.m., the suspect came out of the vehicle and instead off surrendering, got into an SUV and started to back up toward an agent's car with multiple agents inside, Maryon said.
Four agents got out of the car and opened fire, Maryon said, though he did not say how many shots were fired.
One witness told NBC 7 that she heard approximately 15 shots and saw a man taken from the scene by ambulance.
"I heard gunshots,” said condo resident Barbra Louis. “Quite a few.”
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She estimated 12 or 15 gunshots rang out. Then, she said she heard yelling by law enforcement officers.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Louis said. “It was very frightening as you can imagine.”
Maryon said one bullet went into an apartment, where someone was home at the time, though that person was not hit, Maryon said.
The suspect was hit multiple times in the upper body and taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital with serious injuries, Maryon said. He underwent surgery for his injuries, Maryon said.
Several windows of an SUV were shot out in the gunfire.
Louis said she noticed the SUV parked in the complex for several days because it was not one she recognized.
The fugitive was taken to a nearby hospital, officials said. No details were released on the man’s condition.
The task force was made up of officers from the California Highway Patrol, the U.S. Marshal’s Office, U.S. Border Patrol and sheriff’s deputies.
While it’s not clear who fired at the fugitive, the sheriff’s department stated deputies were not involved in the shooting.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
